


missing number

by dcuros



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Akechi Goro Lives, Alternate Universe, M/M, Memory Loss, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 07:42:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17240225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dcuros/pseuds/dcuros
Summary: Akira remembers a boy, one who sacrificed his life for his team and one who has disappeared from everyone's memory.Meanwhile, Goro wakes up in a hospital with very little memory of the past two years.





	missing number

_[12/09 23:02]_ **Akira:** Akechi, are you there?

 _[12/09 23:02]_ **Akira:** Tell me you got out.

 _[12/09 23:03]_ **Akira:** You probably don’t want to talk to me. Not after all that. Just give me a sign that you’re okay.

 _[12/09 23:03]_ **Akira:** Any sign at all. I’m begging you.

 _[12/09 23:14]_ **Akira:** Just… text me when you read this. Please.

 _[12/09 23:14]_ **Akira:** And thank you. We wouldn’t have made it without you.

 

 _[12/11 01:33]_ **Akira:** Did you also turn into a mouse at the ship?

 _[12/11 01:33]_ **Akira:** You’re lucky if you don’t. Being a mouse sucks.

 _[12/11 01:35]_ **Akira:** I finally get Morgana. It’s great being that cute and fluffy but it really isn’t worth losing access to useful things like weapons.

 _[12/11 01:35]_ **Akira:** Or opposable thumbs.

 _[12/11 01:36]_ **Akira:** Just wanted to share, I guess?

 _[12/11 01:51]_ **Akira:** Oh fuck, Morgana woke up. Text me back, okay?

 

 _[12/14 16:26]_ **Akira:** We’re taking a break today. Everyone said I’ve been running myself ragged.

 _[12/14 16:26]_ **Akira:** I guess they’re right. I just wanted this done as soon as possible, you know?.

 _[12/14 16:26]_ **Akira:** The team decided to give me the day off. By which I mean they’ve put themselves in charge of preparing our supplies.

 _[12/14 16:27]_ **Akira:** So, I’ve got myself a sudden free evening.

 _[12/14 16:50]_ **Akira:** Want to grab some sushi with me? I know this amazing place in Ginza.

 _[12/14 16:50]_ **Akira:** Their food’s amazing. They look good enough to go on your blog. You haven’t uploaded anything new in almost a week. Your fans must be livid.

 _[12/14 16:51]_ **Akira:** Tell me if you’re interested. I’ll reserve a spot for you.

 

 _[12/15 22:48]_ **Akira:** Things got a little hairy near the end, but we did it. We stole his treasure.

 _[12/15 22:48]_ **Akira:** All that’s left now is to wait for his change of heart.

 _[12/15 22:49]_ **Akira:** It’s done, Akechi. Shido’s finished. Will you stop ignoring me now?

 

 _[12/16 03:06]_ **Akira:** You still don’t want to talk to me huh.

 _[12/16 03:06]_ **Akira:** Well, I have a new plan. And that’s spamming you until you talk to me.

 _[12/16 03:07]_ **Akira:** Akechi, talk to me.

 _[12/16 03:07]_ **Akira:** Akechi, please.

 _[12/16 03:07]_ **Akira:** AKECHI PLZ REPLY ASAP

 _[12/16 03:08]_ **Akira:** Akechi.

 _[12/16 03:08]_ **Akira:** Goro.

 _[12/16 03:10]_ **Akira:** God, this is pathetic.

 

 _[12/18 19:12]_ **Akira:** You’ve probably seen it on the news but it worked.

 _[12/18 19:13]_ **Akira:** Shido confessed everything. He’ll be paying for his crimes soon.

 _[12/18 19:13]_ **Akira:** That’s my end of the deal done.

 _[12/18 19:21]_ **Akira:** Not even a ‘congratulations’ or a ‘well done’?

 _[12/18 19:21]_ **Akira:** Wow, that’s cold.

 _[12/18 19:23]_ **Akira:** Anyway, we’ll be celebrating at the hideout and you’re welcome to tag along. It’s your win too.

 

 _[12/22 17:54]_ **Akira:** Do you have any plans for Christmas Eve?

 _[12/22 17:55]_ **Akira:** I don’t. Sojiro’ll probably make me work at the cafe until closing.

 _[12/22 18:06]_ **Akira:** You should swing by and hang out with me. I’ve been practicing so I can probably beat you in chess by now. I’ll even give you coffee and curry on the house.

 _[12/22 18:06]_ **Akira:** I mean, you don’t have to go if you don’t want to.

 _[12/22 18:07]_ **Akira:** Just let me know, okay?

 

 _[12/23 15:21]_ **Akira:** I take it back. We’re not done yet. Something isn’t right.

 _[12/23 15:22]_ **Akira:** No one’s doing anything. They’re letting him get away even after his confession.

 _[12/23 15:23]_ **Akira:** We’re looking into it. We can fix this.

 _[12/23 15:23]_ **Akira:** I won’t let him win. I promised you that.

 

 _[12/23 22:54]_ **Akira:** We think Mementos has something to do with this.

 _[12/23 22:54]_ **Akira:** Will you join us tomorrow?.

 _[12/23 22:55]_ **Akira:** We could really use your help and the team would be relieved to see you, I think.

 _[12/23 22:59]_ **Akira:** Please respond. We need you.

 _[12/23 23:07]_ **Akira:** I’ll wait for you at the station after school. You’d better show up, Akechi.

 

 _[12/24 16:48]_ **Akira:** I’m still waiting for you to show up. I’m standing near the ticket machines. Get over here, you selfish bastard. You have 10 minutes.

 _[12/24 16:58]_ **Akira:** Time's up, I'm going. Follow us into Mementos if you care at all.

 _[12/24 16:58]_ **Akira:** Are you even reading this? Answer me, damnit.

 

 _[12/25 01:30]_ **Akira:** I’m turning myself in tomorrow. Sae-san says it’s the only way to put Shido behind bars.

 _[12/25 01:31]_ **Akira:** With that, I’ve officially fulfilled my promise.

 _[12/25 01:56]_ **Akira:** You’re never texting me back, are you?

 _[12/25 01:56]_ **Akira:** You’re really gone.

 _[12/25 01:56]_ **Akira:** Honestly, I’m a little relieved. I can go without worrying I’ll miss a message from you.

 _[12/25 01:58]_ **Akira:** And this should be the last time I can text you.

 _[12/25 01:59]_ **Akira:** I don’t think your number will work anymore by the time I get out.

 _[12/25 02:02]_ **Akira:** So, I just wanted to say I’m sorry.

 _[12/25 02:03]_ **Akira:** I wish things had gone better.

 _[12/25 02:06]_ **Akira:** I wish I could have helped you sooner.

 _[12/25 02:12]_ **Akira:** Merry Christmas, Goro. Goodbye.

 

Akira sighed and stared at his phone screen, fruitlessly waiting for any sign from the detective— for the typing indicator to show before Akechi berated him for spamming his inbox— but minutes passed and only his own messages continued to glare back at him from the screen. He sent one last message and turned off his phone, setting it on the shelf beside his bed alongside his many souvenirs from his adventures around Tokyo. He wouldn’t need it where he was going.

Tonight was his last night of freedom— his last chance to see his friends or explore the once-foreign city he now called his home before he was stuck in a cell for god knows how long— and he’d spent most of it in bed. He had declined his friends’ invitations to spend the evening together, and ducked out early from Sojiro and Futaba’s dinner party, saying he was exhausted from fighting Yaldabaoth and summoning Satanael.  

He had climbed into the attic, and, unable to muster the energy to change, crashed straight into his bed. The crates supporting his mattress creaked in protest, but he barely noticed past the fog of numbness that smothered his brain.

Akira was tired; too tired to feel anything, such as the guilt he should have felt for lying to his found family— the one that had finally come together during the few months he was here and taken him in as one of their own and worried after him as he trudged up the stairs; too tired to do anything— as if a heavy weight had shackled itself onto him and kept him anchored to his bed. So he blankly stared up at the stars stuck on the attic’s ceiling and waited for a reply from a boy who had died weeks ago, waited until the truth caught up to him.

His hand moved to the space beside his head— Morgana’s usual spot— to pet the cat, a habit he’d developed whenever the stress of juggling his schoolwork, his confidants and palace runs threatened to overwhelm him and kept him awake at night, before he remembered that the Metaverse had taken his most trusted companion with it.

Akira cursed and tried to blink back the tears that had sprung in his eyes, but it was a futile endeavor; the numbness in his chest had been replaced with a wave of despair and loss and he was powerless to resist the tide. Tears flowed freely down the side of his face as he remembered all that he’d lost in the past weeks, and all that he was about to lose when he turned himself in tomorrow. He sobbed uncontrollably, all his efforts spent trying to make as little noise as possible in case Futaba’s bugs could hear him, until his tears dried and his eyes were tired and puffy.

He closed his eyes, and prayed he could fall asleep. After all, he had an early start tomorrow.

* * *

 

Akira had been in juvie for two weeks now, and he had spent all of it in solitary. He had seen no trace of any of the other inmates in the detention centre, and none of the guards would speak to him aside from the short clipped orders they would bark out. They looked at him with a mixture of fear and derision, gossipped about him in hushed whispers— barely perceptible to them but all too loud for Akira, when compared to the empty silence that filled his room— and speculated how a change of heart worked, if Akira could reach inside their mind with a few choice words and wreak havoc in the prison.  

He chose to ignore their wild theories and pricked his ears whenever they started talking about news; it was his only lifeline to the world outside and he was eager to hear more about the aftermath of their victory against Yaldabaoth. On occasion, they talked about Shido’s ongoing trial and the public outcry at the slow progress of his case, or the latest arrest of another prominent politician or businessman, all found to be guilty of participating in Shido’s conspiracy; but mostly, they talked about celebrities. They talked mostly of idols, like Kujikawa or Kanami or whatever, but they also talked about Akechi and his sudden absence from the spotlight, especially in the wake of the Phantom Thieves’ victory. But news about him soon dried up, and his name was met only with looks of confusion whenever Akira tried to ask. Goro Akechi was forgotten, his name dropped in exchange for this year’s newest and hottest celebrity.

It was a far cry from his life in Tokyo; his freedom, one that used to span the whole of the city, was now limited to this tiny room that was furnished with nothing but a plain bed, a simple desk, and a toilet and sink; his colourful and wide network of friends and contacts were now reduced to the one guard who sometimes nodded at him in greeting whenever he was in charge of dropping off Akira’s meals.

The loneliness almost reminded him of his life back in the countryside, if lacking the greenery.

It wasn’t long before Akira felt starved for contact. He missed his friends dearly, but none of the Thieves nor Sojiro was allowed any rights to visit him, and his parents had continued to be as radio silent as the day he arrived in Tokyo. He spent most of his days asleep when he wasn’t working on whatever tasks the centre had assigned him for the day, if only to find his way into the Velvet Room and talk to Lavenza or perhaps even Igor. However, none of his naps had landed him the familiar blue prison and only served to give him a headache for oversleeping.

But thankfully, after two weeks of isolation, he was finally allowed to meet to meet Sae Niijima. Her involvement in Shido’s case and her role as his counsel during his hearing meant she was allowed to visit him under the guise of business and update him on how his friends and family were doing.

They faced each other in the visitation room, and he listened intently while she told him about his friends’ efforts to prove his innocence, about the progress of Shido’s trial and the challenge of rounding up all of his associates, and about the status of Akira’s confidants that he had asked her to keep tabs on. There was a short lull in their conversation when she finished, one Akira was all too eager to fill. It had taken him two weeks but he finally mustered up the courage to ask “I know this is kind of a long shot, Sae-san, but have you heard anything about what happened to Akechi? I don’t know how much Makoto told you, but I want to know if there’s any news on him.”

Sae stared at him, puzzled, and tilted her head questioningly, prompting Akira to continue, “You know, local celebrity? Second Coming of the Detective Prince? Runs this adorable food blog? Someone as high-profile as him disappearing should make some headlines, right? His fangirls must be out for blood by now without his regular selfies.”

“I’m afraid I’m not familiar with the local entertainment scene, Kurusu-kun. Is Akechi-kun one of your friends? I can look into him if you’d like.”

Akira stared back at her, his mouth agape in shock. Was Sae messing with him? He scanned her expression, trying to find any trace of mirth or mischief in her expression, even the tiniest smile that could hint at a prank, and found nothing. There was no flicker of recognition when she heard his name, no familiarity in the way she repeated it back to him. Almost as if he was a complete stranger to her.

But there was no way that could happen. Sae had worked with him the longest. Out of anyone, she couldn’t have forgotten him.

“Sae-san, please.” Akira said, almost pleading. “This isn’t the time for jokes. The two of you used to work together. Just the last time we saw each other, you were complaining about how he duped you into paying for sushi after one of your cases. And you were whining about how he never brought you back any of Sojiro’s coffee whenever he dropped by Leblanc, and you were the one who introduced him to the cafe in the first place. Don’t tell me you don’t remember _Goro Akechi._ ”

She frowned at the mention of her griping, glaring a little at Akira for bringing it up, before she crossed her arms and shook her head. Her next words made Akira’s heart drop. “I’m really sorry, Kurusu-kun, but I’ve never heard of anyone by that name. Are you sure you’re alright? I know solitary confinement hasn’t been easy for you and I’m appealing to the courts to stop that.”

“No!” Akira half-yelled as he tried to quell the cold dread building in his chest. “I’m fine. Why can’t you remember him?” The nearby guards sprang to attention at his outburst, just about to jump in before Sae waved them off. Akira ran his hands through his hair, breathing deeply to steady his nerves. “He’s real.” He said, “And he sacrificed himself to help us. Sae-san, I’m begging you.” He grabbed a pen and her sheet pad and began listing down everything he remembered about the detective, from his name and school and down to his SNS accounts. “Just… look into him. I can’t let him be forgotten like this. Not after what he’s done for us.”

Sae nodded, patting Akira’s shoulder in a comforting gesture before she began packing up her files. Her visiting time was almost up.

“I promise, Kurusu-kun. Leave it to me.”

**Author's Note:**

> I've got most of the fic outlined so I should be able to get the next chapter out soon, if my schedule permits. 
> 
> Yell at me in the comments or on my twitter [@hereliesandy](https://twitter.com/hereliesandy)


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